1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to energy transducer systems and, more particularly, to method of and apparatus for converting energy through a pivotally mounted fluid filled vessel utilizing the buoyant force of the fluid contained therein.
2. History of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with a myriad of apparatus utilizing water as a working or power fluid. The genesis of water powered systems extends into technological antiquity due in part, to the abundance of water on the planet and the ever growing need for more energy. Such systems include water wheels and more conventional water turbines.
More conventional applications of water power are manifested in numerous patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for water motors and the like. Certain ones of there patents address simply the weight characteristic of water in its liquid state, such as U.S. Pat. No. 556,391 issued to Wood. This 1896 reference utilizes the weight of water and its fluid nature for achieving an hydraulic motor. Water from a reservoir is sequentially vented into opposing collection troughs disposed on opposite ends of a pivotal beam. Sequential filling and emptying of the water from the reservoir into the troughs causes pivotal actuation and the generation or the transducing of energy from the rocking action thereof. In this manner a secondary fluid such as air or hydraulic fluid may be pumped by the motor for further utilization.
The oscillation of beams and water collection means disposed at opposite ends thereof is also set forth as shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 927,789 issued to Broadwell in 1869, U.S. Pat. No. 223,930 issued to Lay in 1880, U.S. Pat. No. 429,392 to Smyth in 1890, U.S. Pat. No. 479,291 to Marsh in 1892, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,036,587 to Doyle et al in 1912. These prior art references each reflect certain new and useful improvements in water motors. For example, the Smyth patent utilizes not only the weight of the water but the buoyant characteristic thereof by utilizing a series of flotation elements for controlling the accumulation of the water within the vessel and the release thereof for flotation. In each of these cases it is the liquid weight of the fluid which effects the transfer of energy.
More conventional prior art applications of hydraulics to energy conversion systems are set forth as shown in U.S. Pat. No 3,803,847 to McAllister, U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,445 to Grable, U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,965 to Blackburn, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,765 to the inventor of the subject application. These references clearly show the advancement in technology affording new and multiple uses of liquid hydraulics and advances in systems incorporating same. For example, several of the aforesaid patents incorporate compressed air derived from a storage tank or the like to pressurize pumping or hydraulic chambers. These energy conversion systems have multiple uses including heating, cooling, and generating electrical or mechanical power. Similarly, many of these systems address the aspect of limiting the amount of fluid wasted in the cycling process to create a more energy conservative system. By utilizing compressed air, it is said that the pressure head of a more dense fluid such as water may be converted to an air pressure in not only a single but a plurality of vessels having a much greater volume than the original pressure generating volume. The potential energy in the form of air pressure may then be utilized to reduce the pressure across a compressed gas pumping system to reduce the power required for fluid recirculation.
While numerous aspects of fluid hydraulics in energy conversion have been tapped in the aforesaid prior art approaches, conventional technology has not fully addressed the buoyant characteristics of water in shifting or pivotal systems. For example, water contained within a vessel afforded the option of rocking about a center point will manifest a shift in the center of gravity of the system which may be utilized in the conversion of energy.
It would be an advantage therefore to utilize the inherent fluid characteristics of a mass such as water in a liquid state in association with a controlled shifting of its center of gravity. The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide such a system by utilizing low pressure air or the like to actuate a ballast network coupled to a rocking flotation vessel containing such fluid therein. Flotation elements disposed within the vessel are then buoyed by the contained fluid and the rocking of the vessel creates a shift in the fluid level relative to the respective flotation elements for the creation of differential flotation forces. By tapping this buoyancy differential manifested through the rocking of the vessel, an energy transducer system is provided.